Warriors: Dawn of the Clans: The First Prophecy
by Wordghost
Summary: This is my version of the dawn of the warrior cat clans. DISCLAIMER: Some details of the story will not be entirely accurate, such as genders and fur colors of the founding leaders, etc. This is partially because I do not want to straight up copy the characters that Erin Hunter has created since this is my version, therefore I have and will be altering some minor details. Enjoy. c:
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

Thunder stalked through the freshly cut grass, making sure his pawsteps were absolutely silent. Moments ago, he had spotted a gopher's hole a few tail-lengths away. As he got closer to the hole, he saw a small furry head poke out. Halting, he immediately lowered himself to the ground so as not to be seen by his prey, but he made sure his belly fur wasn't brushing against the grass, otherwise the gopher would hear him approaching.

Slowly, the gopher crawled out of its hole and made its way to the Twoleg's garden that was just a few mouse-lengths away. It found a head of lettuce, and, turning its back to Thunder, began to nibble away at the crunchy leaves. Thunder saw this as the perfect opportunity to make the kill. He finally resumed stalking, and just when he was only a mere tail-length away, ready to pounce with his claws unsheathed, the sound of a twig snapping alerted the gopher and its scurried back to its hole in fear.

Thunder hissed in frustration, lashed his tail, and scratched at the grass with his claws, sending bits of dirt and grass blades flying in the air. But as he looked down at the ground, he realized that there were no twigs nearby that he could have stepped on to cause the noise.

Thunder sniffed the air, and realized that he could smell something. He parted his jaws and let the scent bathe his tongue, and he was able to determine that it was a cat. _An intruder! _Becoming suspicious, Thunder felt the creamy brown fur along his neck and spine begin to bristle, making him look twice his size. He glanced from left to right, but no cat was there. Unsheathing his claws, he finally turned around, ready to attack the intruder if he had to.

But what he saw was not what he expected, at all. Indeed, it was a cat, but a rather grotesque one at that. Its skin was wrinkly and hairless, and covered in puffy scars. Its claws were long and jagged, some of them torn, and some of them were even missing. The cat was also very thin, Thunder could see its ribcage and spine poking through.

But worst of all, the most disgusting feature of this cat, were its eyes. They were blind, and a bright, unearthly color. They looked as if they were silver, and they were so intense that they seemed to glow. The cat's eyes were also huge, so big that they appeared to bulge out of its head. They reminded Thunder of ticks that were so fat from feeding on blood that they looked like they would pop any second.

Thunder, aghast from this cat's gross, almost frightening, appearance, had to take a step back. "Who—what are you?" He finally managed to stutter out.

The stranger ignored his question, and instead asked one of its own, "You are the cat called Thunder, yes?"

Thunder's fur bristled even more as heard the strange cat speak his name, and he had to dig his claws in the soft earth to keep himself from falling over in shock. "H—how do you know my name?"

"That matters not," the stranger rasped. The cat's voice sounded like rock rubbing against rock, gritty and ancient. "What matters is—"

But Thunder cut him off before he could continue, "And just what exactly are you doing on my territory?" He Thunder growled, lashing his tail, his shock had transitioned into hostility.

"I was about to tell you before you—"

"You can't hunt here; the prey is for only for me to hunt." Thunder cut him off again with a deep, intimidating growl.

"Will you please stop—"

"If you don't leave, I'll attack!" Thunder let out a fierce yowl, cutting the stranger off a third time.

"Enough!" The strange cat yowled and raised his bony tail, and then the sky ominously darkened with storm clouds that blocked out the sun. Suddenly, a huge flash of lighting in the shape of claws scraped across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder so loud and intense that is shook the ground the cats stood on. A fierce wind began to blow, swirling leaves and twigs around the two cats. Thunder almost fell over from the strength of the wind, but the other cat seemed unfazed, perfectly balanced on his ancient paws.

Thunder around in fear. _What's happening!_ He began to panic, but before he could say anything, the stranger had continued.

"You young cats are so quick start a fight!" The stranger continued, stomping his forepaw on the ground in anger, "So foolish and immature! How do you expect to fulfill the prophecy with such behavior?"

_Prophecy? _But before Thunder could reply, there was another flash of lightning followed by a rumble of thunder, and soon after rain began to pour down on the cats, soaking through Thunder's fur to his skin. He quickly became cold, and it took him great effort to keep himself from shivering, for he didn't want to appear weak in front of the stranger, who didn't show any signs of being cold.

Finally Thunder plucked up the courage to ask, "What prophecy? What are you meowing about?"

"If you will just listen to me for a moment, I will tell you." The stranger growled, still irritated.

"But why should I listen to you? I don't even know you. You haven't even told me your name yet!" Thunder complained.

The strange cat let out a sigh, and lowered his tail. Instantly, the sky cleared, and the rain, the wind, and the storm clouds were all gone. There was no more lightning or thunder; it was as if this cat controlled the weather or something. _What kind of cat _is _this_? Thunder wondered, bewildered, shocked, and a bit frightened.

Finally the cat answered, "I am called Rock", he paused, "And I have come here to tell you something _very _important."

"How did you get here?" Thunder blurted out stupidly.

"I don't have time for stupid questions like that!" Rock hissed.

Thunder almost flinched at Rock's contemptuous tone. _How does he expect me to listen to him if he's so harsh! _But Thunder bit back the retort.

Rock closed his bulging, blind eyes and sighed again, as if he was attempting to calm himself. When he opened them, they were still the same eerie silvery color, and still appeared to be glowing.

_Wait…no…_

They really were glowing! Rock's eyes glowed brighter and brighter, until they looked like stars in his skull, and Thunder had to look away to relieve his eyes. When he looked back, Rock was looking straight at Thunder, as if he could see him, and Thunder felt as though Rock's iridescent stare was piercing through his own eyes into his very soul.

Finally, Rock spoke, and when he did, his voice was no longer raspy and gritty like before, but instead it was as smooth as silk and had a ghostly, ethereal quality to it. He began, "_A prophecy has been foretold since the beginning of time, passed down from generation to generation. Soon, it will be fulfilled, but first,_ _there are four elements that must come together: the sky, the air, the water, and the darkness._"

Rock's voice echoed all around Thunder as he spoke, making his head begin to ache. Then, the sky darkened with storm clouds just like it had before, and the lightning, the thunder, the wind and the rain all returned, and this time the storm was even louder and stronger. Suddenly, Rock closed his eyes and his entire body started to glow, just like his eyes had before. His already pale skin turned a bright, snowy white glow, and then transitioned into a sparkly, silvery iridescence. But that wasn't the most astonishing part, and Thunder had to blink his eyes several times to believe what he saw next.

Rock had jumped…no, Rock had _floated _into the air, as if some invisible force were lifting him off the ground. His skin then began to become transparent, as if the cat were fading away into nothing. Thunder could actually see the sky and the trees through his skin, and as he squinted his eyes he realized that he could see...were those stars? Yes, he could see stars shimmering and sparkling throughout Rock's body.

The prophecy continued to echo around Thunder, repeating itself over and over in Rock's eerie voice until it became louder and louder so that Thunder's ears began to hurt immensely. He shook his head, and pawed at his ears, trying to rid himself of the pain, but it was no use. He had to restrain himself from going insane and banging his head on ground.

Thunder looked up at Rock, who was still floating surprisingly gracefully higher and higher, and continuing to fade more and more. But before he could fade away completely, Thunder yowled over the thunder, wind, and rain, "I don't understand! What does all that mean? Four elements? What do you want me to do?"

Despite him being elevated several tail-lengths away by now, Thunder could still feel Rock's bright starry gaze pierce into him as he opened his eyes to look down at Thunder.

For a couple heartbeats there was no reply from Rock, but then Thunder finally heard his creepy otherworldly voice once more, "_Find the other three elements, young one. Take heed, before it's too late. Go now._"

With that, Rock faded away completely, but the storm still continued. The rain was pouring on Thunder, and he was beyond soaked, and by now he couldn't keep himself from shivering. He felt cold to the bone as the freezing wind whipped at his fur and pierced his face like icy needles, making him have to squint his eyes to relieve them of the pain.

The prophecy continued to echo and repeat itself, until Thunder felt as though he was surrounded by it. He felt trapped, like he couldn't get away from it. He tried to run away, but it was then that he realized he couldn't move. It was as if his paws were stuck in thick mud, he couldn't lift them at all, and his whole body was paralyzed.

His ears hurt so bad by now from the echoes that he thought they would soon bleed, and it wasn't until he felt a warm liquid dripping down the sides of his head that he realized that they actually _were _bleeding. He began to panic as he felt more blood ooze out of his ears, but then he was blinded by a wall of red that he couldn't blink away, and he realized that his eyes were now bleeding too. His heart was now pounding in his chest as he felt the blood from his eyes ooze out and drip down his face; he couldn't see anything but red. Soon after he tasted a tangy, salty, almost metallic liquid in his mouth. His mouth was now bleeding too, he felt it gurgle and bubble in his throat, making him cough and sputter up blood onto the ground. He heard the pitter-patter of his blood as it dripped onto the blades of grass below him, and he tried to shake his head to rid himself of the warm liquid, but he was still paralyzed. He wailed in absolute horror and agony, but his wail was cut short and he realized he could no longer breathe. He tried to cough, but couldn't and soon his lungs began to scream for air.

Just when Thunder thought his lungs would cave in and shrivel up, a massive force _slammed _into him, like a tree had smashed him into the ground. His vision then went black and his mind blank.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Thunder woke with a start. His heart was pounding so fast that he thought it would burst from his chest. He was breathing rapidly and heavily, as though he had just undergone strenuous exercise. He looked around him to survey his surroundings, and he realized that he was inside his Twoleg's nest, sitting on one of their comfortably soft boulder-like structures.

_It was all just a nightmare! _Thunder realized as a wave of relief washed over him. Oddly enough though, he still had a dull aching pain in his head and ears. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in his dream, but it was still reminiscent of it. Thunder decided to push the memory of his dream to the back of his mind.

Rising to his paws, Thunder stretched and then shook himself, as if he was trying to shake off the feelings of unease that remembering his dream had brought him. He didn't notice his hunger until his belly let out a loud growl, and so then he proceeded to leap down from the Twolegs' soft boulder and pad over to smooth, hard, colorful object that contained bits and kibbles of hard, dry food for Thunder to eat.

As Thunder crunched on his kibbles, he couldn't help but think of the gopher from his dream last night and how plump and meaty it had looked. _I bet it would have been super juicy_, Thunder thought wistfully. The thought of a fresh, juicy piece of meat made his kibbles seem especially dry and unappetizing, and Thunder found he couldn't eat anymore.

Though he had never actually successfully caught prey—it was more of a game of chase to him—his Twoleg companions would occasionally feed him scraps of meat whenever they would sit and eat at the large wooden structure a couple tail-lengths away from Thunder's eating place.

Although he never knew what kind of animal the meat was from, sometimes it tasted different to him, but it always tasted delicious. Thunder longed for some now.

To distract himself from his thoughts of fresh meat, Thunder decided to go outside. He squeezed through the maneuverable flap that covered a rectangular hole at the bottom of the large slab of wood the Twolegs would normally open for him to go outside, but none of them seemed to be awake yet. When he padded outside and observed the sky, he found out why. The sun was just barely coming up over the horizon to start the new day. Thunder knew from many moons of living with them that the Twolegs would not be up and about until right before sun-high.

_Why am I awake so early? _Thunder wondered, then figured he must of woken up earlier than usual because of his disturbing nightmare. The memory of it made him shudder, and without realizing it at first his creamy brown fur had begun to bristle along his neck and spine. He finally managed to force it to the back of his mind again as he had done before, but this time it took much more effort.

The thing was, to Thunder, this nightmare wasn't just like any other nightmare. It felt different, almost as if it actually _meant _something, but Thunder couldn't explain these strange feelings, and that made him even more uneasy and nervous.

Once again trying to forget about the nightmare, Thunder decided to check the borders of the territory for signs of trouble, though he already knew there would be little to none to worry about because of the rows of tall planks of wood that surrounded the entire backside of the Twoleg nest. As Thunder peered up at them, he wondered how the Twolegs had managed to get the planks to stay upright in the ground, and how they had managed to get so many of them.

He padded along the bottom of the wooden planks and laid down scent marks here and there every few pawsteps, just in case. The fact that he had dreamt about Rock, the bizarre intruder, made him extra protective of his territory today.

As he neared the Twoleg garden where he had dreamt about catching, well, _almost _catching the gopher, Thunder was reminded of his hunger when it let out a low rumble. He hadn't finished his breakfast, but the hard, dry bits that the Twolegs provided for him still seemed very unappetizing.

_I wish I could get some _real _food_, Thunder thought to himself wistfully as he decided to lay down with his paws tucked under his chest in the shade of a carrotwood tree. By now the sun was nearing the position where the Twolegs would be awake, and with its change in position it brought an increase in heat.

Just when Thunder was about to doze off, a slight, cool breeze began to pick up. It gently pulled at Thunder's creamy brown fur, lulling him even more into sleep. _Ahh, that he feels nice…_

But the breeze reminded him of the unnaturally strong wind of his nightmare, and soon he was replaying the whole scene of the terrifying storm over and over again in his head.

_Why can't I get this stupid dream out of my head!_

Frustrated, Thunder found that he would no longer be able to take a nap with the dream on his mind, so he rose to his paws once more. He stalked off through the Twoleg's garden, not caring whether or not he stomped onto their precious herbs and other vegetation.

Leaving a crumpled mess of leaves behind him, Thunder reached a point where two rows of the wooden planks met, forming a corner. In this corner grew a tree, smaller than the carrotwood and with less leaves, but it had lower branches which were perfect for climbing. Thunder leaped for the lowest one with his forearms outstretched and claws unsheathed, ready to dig in the tree's bark. Once he had secured his claws in the soft bark, he pulled himself up and managed to scramble onto the branch. He repeated this process until he reached a branch that was level with the row of wooden planks. Thunder carefully outstretched his forepaw until it reached the top of the planks, and, putting his weight down on that paw, brought the other one forward as well. Soon he was completely on top of the planks, and he realized that the wood was just wide enough for him to comfortable lay with his paws tucked under his chest.

Thunder surveyed the world around him. It was the middle of green-leaf, and the vegetation around him was buzzing with life. All the plants were a bright, vibrant green. Birds chattered in the trees and hopped from branch to branch, occasionally swooping down to peck seeds it had found amongst the grass. Some bushes nearby Thunder rustled and he saw a large lizard scurry out only to disappear into another one. He could hear bees buzzing around him, going from flower to flower, and as he took a deep breath he found that he could smell the sweet nectar of the blossoms. The sights, sounds and smells of green-leaf calmed Thunder, and he found that he was finally able to completely forget about his nightmare for the first time since he awoke that morning. He slowly shut his eyes and drifted off into a peaceful nap.

When Thunder awoke and opened his eyes, he was so shocked from what he saw that he almost fell off the wooden planks he had been napping on. There, sitting in front of him just a mere tail-length away, was an all-too-familiar cat directing a stern, almost scornful, piercing glare right at Thunder. _What in the name of…?_

It was Rock. And this time, Thunder wasn't dreaming. This time, it was for real.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Thunder's fur was standing completely on end as he stared in disbelief at the cat sitting before him. He blinked his eyes several times, thinking that maybe they were playing a trick on him, but each time he opened his eyes Rock was still there, staring at him with his bulging, blind eyes. _I must be dreaming! _He told himself desperately, trying to keep calm. _I _have _to be dreaming!_

As if he could hear his thoughts, Rock broke the unnerving silence with a raspy grumble, "No, you're not dreaming this time. I am here, and I am real."

Thunder's breath caught in his throat. _First he controls the weather, now he can read minds! _Several heartbeats passed by until Thunder realized he still wasn't breathing and forced himself to gasp for air.

Rock continued with a scornful grumble, "I see you haven't listened to my warnings."

Thunder was absolutely speechless. He simply stared back at Rock and blinked in reply.

"Of course you didn't listen, what else should I expect? Maturity? Wisdom? No, you're much too young for either of those valuable qualities." Rock spat the words out in disgust.

Thunder had to keep himself from flinching at Rock's harsh words. Did he ever have anything positive to say?

Rock let out an exasperated sigh. "Why don't you understand how _important_ this is!" He angrily stomped a forepaw on one of the planks that the two cats were perched on, making the wood crack.

_There's no way a normal cat could have cracked this wood with a mere stomp_. Thunder thought to himself. _But then again, he's no normal cat_.

However, this time, instead of keeping silent, Thunder decided to finally speak up, "Maybe if you would explain to me what exactly it is that you want, I'd be able to understand." He was going to try to keep as calm as possible, despite the fact that what he previously thought was only a figment of a nightmare was actually standing right before him.

Rock's silver eyes lit up with a fiery rage, "What are you? A helpless kit? I can't just _explain _everything to you! Otherwise there would be no point in having the prophecy to guide you!"

_There he goes again with that stupid prophecy_, Thunder silently thought to himself, beginning to become annoyed. Maybe this cat had gone insane and simply had a very, _very _active imagination.

But Thunder quickly ruled out that reasoning as he remembered the abilities of this cat. Controlling the weather, floating, disappearing, and now it seemed that he also possessed an unnatural amount of strength.

Thunder finally replied, "I don't understand what the prophecy means. What do you want me to do about it?" His annoyance with this seemingly-insane cat was growing with every beat of his heart, and he found that he had to fight off a strong urge to slash Rock across the face with his claws.

Rock closed his eyes and muttered, half to himself, "I can't believe you are the one they chose. At this rate, there is no hope for any of us."

_They? Us? _Thunder was confused. "Who's they?"

Rock ignored his question. Instead, he changed the subject back to the prophecy. "If you don't begin this quest, we will just have to make you."

_We? _Instead of inquiring of whom "we" referred to, Thunder instead scoffed, "And just how do expect to do that?"

Rock's eyes opened once more. "You'll see. You'll know when it comes." His growl was ominous and foreboding. Before Thunder could reply, Rock had already begun to fade, just like last time, only this time he wasn't floating away. Soon Thunder could see the trees through his wrinkled and scarred skin, and he then saw the stars twinkling throughout his body. Within a few more heartbeats, Rock's body had completely disappeared, and only his bulging, glazed, silvery eyes remained. They appeared to be floating in midair, and after remaining for a moment longer, they closed shut and were gone.

After Rock had left, the strangeness of the whole situation hit Thunder. _What just happened? _He was absolutely dumbfounded. _What's happening to me? _He had talked to a cat that he dreamed about the night before. _Maybe I'm the one who's going crazy, and these are all just very vivid hallucinations_. Thunder tossed around the idea for a bit, but didn't want to believe it.Although this encounter with Rock wasn't nearly as horrifying as the one in his dream had been, Thunder still felt a prickle of fear at the last few words Rock had said. They replayed over and over in his mind.

_If you don't begin this quest, we will just have to make you._

Thunder shook his head to dispel Rock's raspy voice from his thoughts.

_You'll see. You'll know when it comes._

It was as if his own mind were taunting him. For all he knew, Rock could be in his mind right now, controlling his thoughts. _Who knows what else he can do…_

Not wanting to think about it, Thunder rose to his paws, stretched, and leaped on the branch he had used to mount to wooden planks. He carefully picked his way back down the assortment of branches until he reached the ground.

By the time the whole ordeal was done, Thunder realized, upon looking up at the sky, that it was almost dusk. _I must have dozed for longer than I thought_, Thunder thought to himself.It would be dark soon, and with what just happened, he did not want to spend the night outside, just in case Rock might return. Besides, he hadn't eaten since that morning, and his belly was howling up a storm.

Thunder made his way through the grass back to the hole in the side of the Twoleg den that he had used to go outside earlier. _Let's just hope Rock doesn't have the power to enter Twoleg dens_, he tried to comfort himself.As he squeezed through the hole, and Thunder was hit in the face with a wave of delicious smelling meat. He looked to his left and spotted his Twoleg companions eating at the large wooden structure that he had thought about earlier, and he padded over in hopes that they would toss him a few scraps. As he neared one of the Twolegs, he reached up with a forepaw and, making sure his claws were sheathed, gently paws at its leg. The Twoleg looked down at him and pointed with one of its strange, pink, fleshy paws at the object that contained Thunder's dry kibbles. The Twoleg muttered something at him, but of course Twolegs were too stupid to create any form of understandable language. Still, Thunder got the gist and padded over to the object, and then proceeded to eat the remaining kibbles that he hadn't finished from earlier that day. When the object was completely empty, Thunder turned to the Twoleg and let out his most charming meow. The Twolegs, for whatever reason, had always liked it when he meowed at them.

The Twoleg looked down at him once more and, looked from him to the kibble object, and then back at him. Seeming pleased, the Twoleg tossed a few scraps of meat on the floor, as in a reward for his cooperation. The meat landed with a soft _plop _on the hard floor, and Thunder bent his head down to lick up the meat. Although the meat was unidentifiable, it was still delicious, and Thunder ate it all eagerly.

Finally satisfied, Thunder padded to the front of the Twoleg den, and lied down with his paws tucked under his chest against the side of the den. This side of the Twoleg den didn't have a hole in it, and so Thunder had to wait for a Twoleg to open the large wooden slab that led to the outside world.

Finally, the Twolegs finished eating their meal and one of them, upon noticing Thunder, walked over to him and opened the wooden slab. When Thunder set foot outside, he discovered it was night time, although the ground beneath his paws was still warm from absorbing the green-leaf heat all cool night air brought a pleasant relief from the heat of the day, although it wasn't uncomfortably cold.

Thunder decided to patrol his territory, just like he had done behind the Twoleg den that morning. He padded to the edge of the long patch of grass that grew in front of the Twoleg den and began to lay down his scent marks.

When he had finished his scent marking, Thunder came to the huge tree that had grown for years to the left of the Twoleg den. He peered up at it and remembered that when he was just a kit, the tree was much smaller. Now the tree was huge; it had grown up over the years, just like he had.

Thinking about his past reminded him of all the times when his Twoleg companions would play with him when he was younger. All these memories gave him a sense of being home, which made him genuinely happy.

Despite his long nap earlier in the day, Thunder found that he was actually tired from all the patrolling and scent marking. Since there was not a cloud in the sky, he decided to curl up next to the big tree and sleep there for the night. Before he drifted off, he gazed up at the stars. There seemed to be more of them tonight, and they seemed to shine brighter than ever. Even the moon seemed to glow and sparkle.

Feeling happy, safe, and secure, Thunder decided to dismiss his encounters with Rock all together. The cat must simply be insane, and he was in no way inclined to listen to what he said. He wasn't going anywhere; this is his home. With that last thought, his mind happily slipped away into the peaceful unconsciousness of sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4**_

The next morning, Thunder was awoken by a huge crack of thunder that erupted from the sky. His eyes shot open, startled, and he was surprised to find that the sky was completely covered with storm clouds.

_A storm? In the middle of green-leaf? That's odd…_

His thoughts were interrupted when a huge flash of lightning scored its way across the sky in the distance, followed by another huge rumble of thunder. At first the air was filled with a light drizzle, followed by a soft rain, which eventually transformed into a downpour.

Luckily for Thunder, the canopy of leaves of the tree he sat under was thick enough to block most of the rain. Only a couple holes in the canopy let water leak through, dripping on the grass beside Thunder. He took no notice of it, and was glad that he was able to stay dry. _What a horrible wake-up call it would be to get soaked in the rain_, he thought to himself.

He rested his head on his paws and attempted to go back to sleep, but another loud crack of thunder kept him awake. Realizing that all effort to sleep would be futile, he settled for watching the jagged flashes of lightning scrape the sky and listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops on the leaves above him.

When the next flash of lightning ensued, it appeared to Thunder to be closer than the previous flash had been. The following thunder was much louder than it had been the previous rumbles, so loud that it slightly shook the earth. Thunder concluded that the storm must simply be passing over him, thus explaining the bouts of lightning and thunder passing over him.

But when the next crack of thunder shook the earth so much that Thunder fell over, he began to become concerned. Is it unsafe for him to be this close to a storm?

Before Thunder could react, he was blinded by a flash of purplish-white light. There was a loud, strange buzzing sound, like millions of bees were swarming around him. His creamy brown fur became filled with static, and there was a strange force in the air that made every single hair stand on end. The buzzing sound was so intense that it seemed to fill his body and pulse through his veins.

It seemed like a lifetime before Thunder was able to regain his sight, but really only a few heartbeats had passed by. The buzzing sound was gone, replaced by a faint, soft crackle coming from somewhere above him. Though the flash was over, Thunder still felt a slight, dull buzzing throughout his body.

Suddenly, a fierce wind picked up out of nowhere. It was so strong that it knocked Thunder over, and he realized that as the wind got stronger, the crackling noise from above got louder.

He peered up at the tree and was absolutely terrified by the horror that he witnessed.

The top half of the tree had been split in two, and the bark was a deep black, darker than night. Huge, sharp splinters of blackened wood lay scattered on the ground around Thunder, and he realized that he could have very easily been hit by one, which could cause serious injury.

But the worst part of this scene, was the fact that the entire canopy of the tree was engulfed in flames. The fire in the tree roared and crackled even louder than before, and loud hissing noises arose as a result of the raindrops colliding with the flames. But the rain was not strong enough to put out this fire, and the ferocious wind only made it worse by spreading the flames to other trees and bushes near Thunder, who was frozen in fear.

The fire began to spread down the split trunk of the tree, and a low creaking noise erupted from the tree's trunk, as if it was moaning in pain from the fiery inferno. Branches from the tree's previously thick canopy began to creak as well, and soon after there was a loud _snap_!

A branch had broken off the top of the tree, and now it was flying to the ground, still on fire. Thunder stared at it as it landed a mere tail-length away from him, _much _too close for comfort. As it landed, sparks flew off the branch and hit his pelt. They were so hot that they burned through his fur to his skin before finally dissipating, causing Thunder to yelp in pain.

The lower trunk of the tree let out another creaking sound, this time louder. Then, there was an earsplitting _crack! _Thunder stared up at the tree, still frozen in horror, as it slowly leaned forward, edging closer to him.

Realizing what was about to happen, Thunder shook himself and tried to focus. He needed to get out of there, but he was surrounded by a wall of fire that was getting closer and closer to him.

The heat began to become unbearable, and the smoke from the flames stung his eyes, nose and throat. It filled his lungs, making him cough repeatedly. The tree continued to lean more and more, until there was one final crack. The tree had uprooted, sending dirt flying into the air, and was now flying towards him.

With a rush of adrenaline pulsing through his veins, Thunder observed his surroundings again. He had no choice but to try to jump over the wall of flames and hope for the best. It was either that, or get squashed. Bunching up the muscles in his hindquarters, Thunder set off at a sprint towards the fire. The tree was almost on top of him by now, and it seemed as if it would never stop falling.

Just when the tree was about to crush him in a fiery death, Thunder leaped over the wall of flames. The fire was higher than he had expected, and the flames lapped at his paws and singed his belly fur. Yowling in pain, Thunder landed on the other side of the fire just as the tree finally came to a halt on the ground, sending small burning branches flying in the air.

Thunder hit the ground with a hard thud, and it knocked all the air out of his lungs. He lay there on his side gasping for air for many heartbeats, before he was finally able to breathe somewhat regularly. As soon as he got to his paws, he sprinted away from the fiery inferno, although the burning in his pads protested with every step. Thunder was too afraid to give in to the pain, however, and kept running until he came to the edge of the Thunderpath that crossed in front of the Twoleg den.

Upon arriving, he flopped down onto his flank and lay there to rest, panting. He looked over his shoulder at the fire, and saw that it had spread to the left side of Twoleg den. If he listened closely, he could hear the howls of the Twolegs inside. Thunder wondered if they were being burned alive, but the sickening feeling in his stomach told him that he didn't want to know, especially since he had come so close to having a similar fate.

When Thunder felt that he was the most recovered he was going to get, he rose to his paws once more. This time, though, it was much more painful. He had no more adrenaline or fear to mask the pain, and so he collapsed back to the ground. He examined his paws and saw that each paw had bleeding and/or blistered pads. Grimacing from the pain, Thunder began to lick each paw in an attempt to soothe his burning pads. The flesh was raw and tasted of sour blood, but he kept licking in order to clean them, but it also helped to get distract him from thinking about the traumatic event that had just occurred.

When he had cleaned his pads of the blood as much as he could, he rolled over onto his back so that his paws were facing the sky pad-up. In this position, raindrops were able to directly hit his paws, soothing the burning a little with cool water. He didn't care that his pelt was now saturated with water, and that the cold had managed to soak through his fur to his skin, making him shiver. All he cared about now was getting rid of the pain in his paws. He had never felt such excruciating pain before in his life, even when he had once sprained his ankle by tripping over a tree root long ago.

Thinking about the past, Thunder glanced at the Twoleg den again. It was now completely engulfed in flames. Memories of his life in the Twoleg den were all he had left now. Soon, the den itself would be a mere pile of ashes. Thinking about the Twolegs, he then realized that he could no longer hear their yowls from inside their den. Thunder gulped down the lump of sorrow that had formed in his throat.

_They're dead_.

Thunder's vision began to go black, and the sight of the burning den began to fade. He felt his grip on consciousness beginning to slip away. Finally, partially from the agony in his paws and partially from pure exhaustion, Thunder passed out on the ground, leaving the sound of the roaring fire behind to be replaced with black silence.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5**_

When Thunder regained consciousness, he found that the rain had stopped, but his pelt was still wet. The sky had cleared of rain clouds, and Thunder could see that it was sun-high. _I must have been unconscious the whole morning_, he reasoned.

He rolled on to his side and examined his paws again. They still appeared to be raw and blistered, but they hadn't bled anymore. Thunder looked up where the Twoleg den used to be. To his dismay, the fire still hadn't stopped. Instead, it continued to burn the Twoleg den, and unfortunately had also spread to the surrounding dens.

Thunder didn't know what to do. He had no home now, and he couldn't stay here because the other Twoleg dens would soon burn down as well. He had to fight the urge to wail like a helpless kit calling for its mother.

Suddenly, the memory of an angry, raspy voice emerged in Thunder's mind.

_If you don't begin this quest, we will just have to make you. You'll see. You'll know when it comes._

A sudden realization hit Thunder like he had just been whacked in the face with a tail. _Is _this _what Rock had meant?_

A familiar voice answered his silent question. "Yes."

Thunder's attention snapped away from his thoughts as his head whipped around in the direction of the voice. There was Rock, sitting on the grass with his tail curled around his paws.

_How does he always manage to sneak up on me like that_? Thunder wondered, beginning to become frustrated.

Then Thunder became angry and, ignoring the pain in his pads, leaped to his paws. Lashing his tail, he hissed, "This is all your fault! You did this!" When Rock simply blinked at him in reply, Thunder sighed and continued, "Why did you burn down my home?"

Rock twitched his whiskers as if it were no big deal. "You wouldn't listen to me. I warned you that we would make you."

Thunder felt rage bubbling in his chest like a volcano getting ready to erupt. "But you didn't have to _destroy_ my home! Didn't you consider that I could have _died_!"

"I didn't think you were bee-brained enough to let yourself get killed." Rock replied, "Obviously, I thought correctly."

Thunder felt a growl rising in his throat. "But you killed the Twolegs."

Rock flicked his tail dismissively. "Twolegs don't matter."

"They didn't deserve to be burned alive!"

"Only a cowardly kittypet would actually _care _about the Twolegs." Rock scoffed contemptuously.

_Kittypet? What's a kittypet? _Thunder didn't want to ask for fear of making himself appear foolish for not knowing. Instead, he muttered. "Well, what do you suppose I do now? I have nowhere to live."

"Precisely," was Rock's only reply.

"What do you mean 'precisely'? How does me having no home benefit you?"

"Because now you have no choice but to fulfill the prophecy," Rock explained.

"But I do have a choice," Thunder contradicted him, "I could choose to ignore you again."

Rock narrowed his bulging silver eyes at Thunder until they were mere slits, and he leaned forward until his grotesque face was only a whisker-length from Thunder's. "You've already tried ignoring us." Thunder could feel Rock's hot, stinking breath on his face as he continued, and he had to fight back the urge to gag. "Look how that turned out for you." Rock motioned with his head at the Twoleg den, which was still burning.

_Mouse-dung! _Thunder bit back the exclamation. He knew Rock was right, which angered him even more. "Okay, fine. You win. What do you want me to do now?"

Rock's tone became serious. "Leave this place. Find the other three."

"But I don't know who the other three are supposed to be!" Thunder mewed desperately.

"Listen to the prophecy. Four elements: sky, air, water, and darkness."

Thunder still didn't understand, but Rock had already begun to fade away, so he didn't bother asking anymore questions. Instead, he turned around and stalked away from the fading cat, wanting to get as far away from him as he could.

_How can he expect me to just _leave _my home_? Thunder thought to himself in annoyance as he glanced back at the burning Twoleg dens behind him. _But then again, it's not like I have any other options_. He padded to the edge of the Thunderpath again, and looked from left to right to see if any monsters where coming. Upon seeing none, he bunched the muscles in his hind legs and sprinted out across the Thunderpath as fast as his sore limbs would allow him to. The gritty, pebbly texture of the Thunderpath increased the pain in his paws, but he didn't slow his pace until he reached the other side. He would much rather have burning pads than be squashed by a monster. He flopped down on his flank to rest and relieve his aching paws, panting from the strenuous exertion.

The acrid scent of the Thunderpath lingered on his pelt, burning his nose. To get rid of the scent, and also to dry his still damp pelt, he began to groom his fur, grimacing at the horrible taste of the Thunderpath.

When the scent was mostly gone from his pelt, and his fur mostly dry, he rose to his paws once more. There were more Twoleg dens on this side of the Thunderpath, and Thunder feared that the fire would somehow spread here, too. _I can't stay near any Twoleg dens_, he finally concluded.

With this decision, Thunder set off to get as far away from the fire and the rest of the Twoleg dens as he could. He padded along the strip of stone floor in front of the Twoleg dens that paralleled the Thunderpath until he reached another, much larger Thunderpath that intersected the one he was following, and multiple monsters flew past him in both directions, flattening his fur and blowing acrid smelling air in his face. Stopping to survey his surroundings, he saw that the stone floor he had been walking on turned to the left and continued along the intersecting Thunderpath. On the other side of the Thunderpath, there was a huge Twoleg structure with several Twoleg kits running around in front. He could hear their yelps of pleasure as they played with one another. Multiple monsters were sitting in front of the Twoleg structure next to one another, though Thunder could not hear their ferocious growls, so he assumed that they must all be sleeping.

Since this Thunderpath was so much larger than the previous one he had crossed, he knew it would be much more dangerous. Not only that, but it would take longer to get across no matter how fast he sprinted, and his pads already hurt enough as is. With this reasoning, Thunder decided to turn left and continue following the strip of stone floor.

When he had turned the corner, he saw that there were more Twoleg dens to the left of the stone strip, and rows of huge willow tree to the right of it. After what seemed like a lifetime of walking, there were finally no more Twoleg dens to the left of him, and he had made enough distance between himself and the Twoleg kits so that he could no longer hear their squeals of joy. The only sound he heard now was the sound of his paws softly hitting the stone floor as he padded along. Even the birds in the trees were quiet, as if they too were grieving for Thunder's lost home. The silence around him and the low hanging leaves of the huge willow trees left an unbearably gloomy mood in the air.

The silence was soon broken by Thunder's belly, which growled with hunger. The last time he had eaten was the night before, which seemed an especially long time ago with all that had happened. With all the strenuous activity he had gone through, he felt that he had never been this hungry in his life. He then realized with a twinge of grief in his chest that he would never again be generously tossed scraps of delicious meat.

Shaking his head to focus himself, he knew couldn't dwell on the past. He needed to eat, and with no Twolegs around, he knew he had no choice but to hunt and catch his own food. Having never actually successfully caught any prey before, he was extremely inexperienced.

On the other hand, though, Thunder reasoned that since it was still the middle of green-leaf, there should be plenty of prey for him to catch, he just needed to find it first. Parting his jaws, he let the nearby scent bathe his tongue. At first all he could smell were plants and dirt, but then a slight breeze blew a faint trace of prey in his direction. Thunder's mouth began to water at the smell of it. He lowered himself to the ground, making sure his belly fur didn't brush against anything, and began to stalk in the direction of the scent. As he got closer to the scent, it became stronger, and he discovered that it was wafting from a lantana bush to the right of the stone strip he had been walking on. He made sure that his pawsteps were absolutely silent as he continued to stalk toward the bush, and as he neared it, he was able to identify the prey by its scent as some type of bird. Eventually he was able to see the bird, it was at the bottom of the lantana, hopping about and occasionally pecking the ground here and there. Thunder was grateful that the breeze was blowing towards him and not it, for fear that it might be able to detect his scent.

When Thunder was finally close enough to pounce, he saw that it was a pigeon, and it had just happened to turn its back to him in its search for food. Thunder prepared himself to pounce, unsheathing his claws and bunching his hind leg muscles, and then, leaped!

The sound of his lift off had alerted the pigeon, and it let out a shrill alarm call before trying to get away, but the branches of the lantana bush were too intertwined and too thick with leaves and flowers for it to pass through. Thunder had cornered the pigeon up against the bush, and its only option was to fly away. But just as it spread its wings to lift off, Thunder landed on the pigeons back, digging his claws into its flesh and pinning it to the ground. The pigeon squawked and squirmed beneath his paws, trying desperately to escape, but Thunder quickly bit it at the back of the neck, killing it.

Thunder looked down at his prey. _I did it! _He had successfully caught his own food for the first time. Thunder felt a bubble of pride rise in his chest as he lied next to his prey, but then a thought occurred to him.

_How do I eat it? _He wondered. After pondering for a while, he finally shrugged and began to rip the feathers off the pigeon. When he had stripped of as many feathers as he could, he took a bite.

The texture of the meat was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and the taste was even better. _Now _this _is fresh! _Thunder was absolutely delighted; the meat was juicy, tender, and full of flavor. He took another bite and decided he would eat slowly, wanting to savor every last bite.

Thunder eventually ate every last bit of meat and then gnawed on the remaining bones, for he liked the crunchy texture.

By the time he was finally finished with his meal, Thunder observed the sky and realized it was getting close to dusk, and the air around him was beginning to cool down.

Feeling tired from all the traveling, he knew he needed to find somewhere safe to sleep for the night. He looked all around him, surveying his surroundings for a possible sleeping place. He rose to his paws and circled the lantana, and as he arrived at the other side of the bush, he saw that there was a small gap in the entwined branches. He measured the gap with his whiskers, and found that it was just big enough for him to squeeze through, although the branches that surrounded the gap tugged at his pelt, causing him to leave tufts of fur behind.

The inside of the lantana was just spacious enough for a cat his size to comfortably rest. But as he lied down, he realized that the dirt he lied on was packed hard, making him uncomfortable. Thunder then came up with the genius solution of laying the feathers from the pigeon he ate on the ground and sleeping on top of them. He squeezed back out through the gap, retrieved the feathers, and then proceeded to arrange the feathers.

Once he had completed his makeshift nest, Thunder lied down once more. By now, the sun had completely dipped beyond the horizon and the moon was beginning to rise. Exhausted from the long day, it wasn't long before Thunder was quickly engulfed in the darkness of sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

Thunder awoke to a rustling sound coming from somewhere nearby him. His head shot up, immediately alert just in case the sound was an indication of danger. He pricked his ears so that he could hear better, and when he heard the sound again, he determined that it must be coming from something moving in a bush nearby him. He parted his jaws to see if he could smell anything, but the pungent scent of the lantana bush he was lying under seemed to mask everything else.

Thunder, deciding to investigate the rustling sound more thoroughly, proceeded to get up and squeeze out of the bush he had slept in. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was morning, the sun just beginning to come up over the horizon. He shook himself to rid his pelt of the dead leaves and flower petals, and then stretched his limbs and muscles, arching his back to loosen his stiff spine. Blinking the last traces of sleep out of his eyes to make sure he was completely awake, he pricked his ears again to listen for the sound.

When he heard it once more, he angled his ears in the direction of the sound, and found that it was emitting from another lantana bush to his right. He squinted his eyes at the bush, but the branches were too entwined and too thick with leaves for him to see anything that might be inside it. He slowly padded towards the bush, making sure to keep his pawsteps silent so as not to alert whatever was inside. As he got closer and closer, he parted his jaws again to let the scents around him bathe his tongue. At first all he smelled was the strong the scent of the lantana, but then there was a faint trace of something else that wafting from the bush…

_It's a cat!_

Thunder was able to identify the scent successfully, and as he inhaled it again he determined that the scent belonged to a she-cat. The fur along his neck and spine began to bristle as the rustling sound came again from inside the bush. He circled the lantana until he found a gap in the branches at the bottom, similar to the gap in the bush he had slept in. He saw tufts of ginger fur stuck to the branches, and as he sniffed at the opening to the gap he determined that the scent was recent, _very _recent. _She must be still in there_, Thunder reasoned. _Should I attack_?

Not sure what to do, Thunder finally decided to enter the bush and assess what he was up against. He squeezed through the gap, trying to keep as silent as possible. Once inside, he was able to see a sleeping she-cat curled up against the side of the bush, her flank rising and falling softly with every breath. Every so often, her whole body would twitch spastically against the bush, causing the rustling noises Thunder had heard. As Thunder observed her, he realized that she was smaller than him, therefore not much of a threat.

Just when Thunder finally concluded that he would not attack her, the ginger she-cat's body began convulsing rapidly and she emitted strange, mewling noises. It appeared to Thunder that he was having some kind of seizure. Even after several heartbeats had passed by, her spasms did not stop, and although Thunder did not know this she-cat, he began to become worried.

Hesitantly, Thunder crept toward the ginger she-cat and whispered, "Uhm, excuse me…"

The she-cat gave no response, only continued to fidget and twitch.

"Hello? Are you okay?" Thunder meowed, this time louder, but there was still no response. Then the she-cat began to moan in her sleep as if she were in pain.

"Hey!" Thunder yowled this time, but his efforts were futile.

Becoming desperate, Thunder placed his paws on her flank and shook her. "Hey! Wake up!" He yowled as loud as he could.

The she-cat finally woke with a start, her flanks rising and falling quickly as she breathed rapidly. Her leaf green eyes were wide with shock and…was that fear?

The she-cat looked around her confusedly, as if she was unsure of where she was. Finally she noticed Thunder standing above her, and as she looked up at him she leapt to her paws.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, her fur has bristled, making her look twice her size, and her tail was lashing.

Thunder took a step back, "I—I was…y—you were…" His surprise at the she-cat's aggressiveness made him stammer.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" The she-cat growled as her lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing sharp white teeth.

Thunder was speechless for a heartbeat, and then finally replied with, "My name's Thunder."

"I don't care what your name is!" The she-cat hissed again, "Why did you wake me?"

"Well, you asked who I was, so I told you." Thunder pointed out, trying to keep his meow calm so as not to aggravate her further. "And I woke you because you were like, having a seizure or something. I thought there was something wrong and…" Thunder's voice trailed off.

"And what?" The she-cat pried, her fur beginning to lie flat, but her claws remained unsheathed.

"And I wanted to make sure you were okay." Thunder finally finished.

"Why would you care if I was okay?" The she-cat's meow was filled with a mixture of hostility and confusion.

"Because, well, what kind of cat would I be if I were to just let you suffer like that?" Thunder reasoned, half trying to convince himself as well as her.

"But you don't even know me." The she-cat pointed out, the hostility slowly fading out of her voice.

"Well, we could start by you telling me your name." Thunder suggested.

The she-cat was silent for a couple heartbeats, and finally answered with, "River. My name's River." She paused, then asked, "Why did you even come in here in the first place?"

"I was sleeping in a bush a few tail-lengths away from this one, until some rustling sounds woke me. I followed the sounds until they brought me here, where I saw you having a seizure."

"Oh, well, I was just having a dream." River explained, all hostility completely gone by now.

"It looked more like a nightmare to me." Thunder remarked.

"Even if it was a nightmare, it's not like I would be scared like some kit." River retorted.

_Really? Because I swear I saw fear in your eyes when you woke up._ But Thunder decided not to pursue the subject, instead, he asked, "So, why were you sleeping in a bush?"

"Why were you?" She countered.

The memory of the traumatic fire instantly reappeared in his mind. He tried not to wince at the memory as a twinge of grief poked him in his chest. "I used to live with the Twolegs, but my home burned down yesterday. They're dead, and I have nowhere to live now."

River's leafy green eyes widened in surprise, "My home burned down too!"

"Really? You must have lived close to me then." Thunder was surprised too, for he had never seen River before when he had lived with his Twolegs, not even when he patrolled the borders.

"Or maybe the fire just spread really far." River pointed out.

"That could be true." Thunder agreed, "What do you plan on doing now?"

"I could ask you the same thing." River meowed.

_She doesn't seem to be a big fan of straightforward answers_, Thunder remarked to himself. "Well, so far the only thing on my agenda is to survive. How about you?"

"Same." She replied tersely.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Thunder. "You wouldn't happen to know a cat named Rock, would you?" He blurted out impulsively.

River just stared at him with wide eyes for a few heartbeats. "Actually, I do."

Thunder didn't believe his ears. "Surely you couldn't be talking about a grotesque, hairless cat with—"

"—bulging blind eyes?" River finished for him.

Thunder was absolutely dumfounded. They were talking about the same cat! "How do you know him?"

"Well, to be honest, I had a dream about him, but I didn't think he was real. But then the next day…"

"He appeared to you while you were awake?" Thunder finished for her.

River simply nodded, as if she were too shocked to speak.

"Did he…," Thunder hesitated, as if he wasn't sure about what he was going to say, "did he give you a sort of…prophecy?"

"Yes!" River exclaimed. "Did he tell you to find the other three elements?"

"He did." Thunder nodded, "But I don't understand what he means by that."

"What I don't understand is why he would tell _both _of us to find the other three." River pondered out loud.

"I don't know." Thunder agreed. "But for now, let's just agree that there is some kind of connection between us."

River looked at him, confusion clouding her green eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, I think Rock meant for us to meet. Maybe we're supposed to find the three elements together." Thunder suggested.

River was silent for a few heartbeats to ponder this, and then finally replied, "You could be right."

"We should probably stick together." Thunder meowed, "At least for now."

"Okay," River agreed, "For now, we will. But what exactly should we do now?"

"The only thing we can do." Thunder replied, "Find a new home."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

_Should I really stay with this cat? Can I really trust him? What if this is all a trick… _Confusing thoughts clouded River's mind, and she shook her head in an attempt to clear them.

Before she could reply to Thunder, her belly let out a loud growl. She hadn't eaten since before the fire burned down her home, and her stomach seemed to be persistent on reminding her.

Thunder twitched his whiskers in amusement. "I'm assuming you're hungry?" He purred.

River nodded. "I haven't eaten since before the fire."

"Really?" Thunder seemed surprised, "I ate yesterday; I actually managed to catch a pigeon."

River's pelt felt hot with embarrassment. "Oh, well…I've never hunted."

Thunder nodded in understanding. "Me either, until yesterday at least. Want me to catch you something?"

_I'm not a kit! _River lifted her chin indignantly, but she bit back the retort. Instead, she politely mewed, "Thanks, but I'd like to try to catch something myself." Now that she knew that Thunder could hunt, she figured she could too.

Thunder dipped his head, turned around and squeezed out of the gap in the lantana bush. River soon followed, and once she was outside she parted her jaws to let the scents around her bathe her tongue. She soon smelled the scent of prey drifting towards her from a willow tree a few tail-lengths to her left. She lowered herself to the ground, trying to keep her fur from brushing against the dead leaves on the ground. She slowly and silently stalked towards the willow, and as she neared it she could see a rat nibbling on a seed among the roots.

River's mouth watered and she licked her chops at the sight of her prey; its scent was even stronger now that she was closer. The rat was very plump as a result of the abundance of food during green-leaf. River continued to stalk closer, and fortunately the rat turned its back to her. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, River pounced on the rat and gave it a fatal bite to the back of the neck.

"Good kill!" River heard a voice pipe up from her left. With a paw pinning her kill to the ground, she looked up to see Thunder congratulating her. He had been watching her the whole time.

_He's awfully nice for a stranger_, she remarked to herself, _but I guess I'd rather him be nice than hostile_. Shrugging, she mewed cheerily, "Thanks."

She picked up her prey in her jaws and padded over to Thunder. "Would you like to share?" She offered, though her mew was muffled by the rat's fur.

Thunder purred at her generous offer, but declined. "Thanks, but I think you need it more since you haven't eaten in so long. I'll go see if I can catch anything else and I'll meet you back here."

River nodded as Thunder bounded off behind a lantana bush to hunt, and then she proceeded to lie down to eat her kill. When she took a bite, all she got was a mouthful of fur. _Yuck! _She grimaced and then spat out the fur. She looked back down at the rat, hesitant to take another bite. But there was now a bald spot where she had ripped the fur out, revealing its flesh. She sniffed at it and then took a bite. It was juicy, tender, and flavorful. _Much better! _She thought with delight, and continued to eat.

When she was a little more than halfway done eating her rat, Thunder returned with a bundle of fur in his jaws. He padded up to River and dropped the bundle on the ground in front of her.

Curious, River asked, "What is that?"

"A gopher." Thunder answered.

River tipped her head to the side, "What's a gopher?"

"It's kind of like a squirrel, except it's bigger and instead of trees it lives in underground burrows." Thunder explained.

"Oh," River nodded, "How did you manage to catch that?"

"Well, I found its scent trail and followed it until I reached a small plant that smelled like some kind of herb, and underneath the plant I found a hole. So I crouched behind the plant until I saw a gopher come out and then I pounced!" Thunder lifted his chin with pride and puffed out his chest with excitement.

River purred with amusement at his enthusiasm. "Well, good kill."

"Thanks," Thunder replied warmly and then lied down across from River to eat his kill.

Both cats were silent as they ate, but when they had finished, River asked, "So, about that whole finding a new home thing…" River paused.

Thunder looked up from grooming his paw. "Yes?" He prompted.

"Where do you think we should go?" River finally asked.

Thunder was silent for several heartbeats before he replied, "I'm honestly not sure where exactly we'll end up. But for now I think we should continue following the path up north." He motioned with his tail to the strip of stone floor that was to the left of them.

River nodded, agreeing with him because she didn't have any better suggestions. "Maybe Rock will tell us where to go eventually."

Thunder nodded back at her, and then changed the subject. "Well, for now, we should keep moving." He rose to his paws and motioned to River with his head to follow him.

The two cats padded to the stone floor that Thunder had followed the previous day, and, side-by-side, they began following the stone path. After what seemed like ages of walking, and the sun had risen high in the sky, the cats stopped at a split in the stone path. The path they had been following broke off into two more stone paths: the one on the left gradually turned in a west-ward direction, while the one on the right continued to head north.

"Which one should we follow?" River wondered out loud.

"I'm not sure." Thunder answered. Squinting his eyes so that he could see better, he peered at the left path, and then the right one. "I think the left path leads to more Twoleg nests. Look," He motioned with his paw at the distance beyond the left path.

River looked in the direction he had pointed out and responded, "Yeah, I think I can see them too. But we don't want to live with more Twolegs, do we? I don't think that's what the prophecy is telling us to do."

Thunder nodded, and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but stopped. Closing his mouth, he instead pricked his ears. "Do you hear that?" He finally spoke.

River tipped her head to one side, confused, but proceeded to prick her ears just as Thunder had. It wasn't until then that she realized she could hear something in the distance.

"By the sound of it, it's very far away." Thunder remarked.

River listened harder, and meowed, "I think it's coming from the left path."

Thunder nodded, but said nothing. Both cats were staring into the distance beyond the left path, concentrating hard on the sound. It was a strange sound; it came continuously in short, sharp, bursts. Then, River realized that it was getting louder.

"Is it just me or is that sound getting louder?" Thunder spoke her mind.

"That's what I was just thinking!" River exclaimed. "Wait, couldn't that mean that it's getting closer?" She began to grow concerned.

The sound continued to get louder and louder, until it was loud enough to the point where River knew exactly what was making the noise.

Her green eyes widened with fear, and, turning to Thunder, she suddenly yowled, "Thunder! We have to go!"

Thunder snapped out of his concentration and turned to her, looking at her in bewilderment as if she had grown as second head. "What? Why?"

"I know what the sound is coming from!" She hissed, panic beginning to tighten in her chest. "We need to—"

A loud, low growl coming from the left path cut her off, and River realized the sounds from before had ceased. Since both cats had stopped paying attention to the path, they hadn't seen it coming. River snapped her mouth shut, frozen with fear.

Finally she managed to turn her head to the left, and that's when she saw it. As she gazed up at it, she saw how its mouth was curled up in a snarl, revealing sharp, white teeth, and saliva was dripping from its jowls onto the stone floor.

There, looming over the cats only a mere tail-length away, was the biggest dog River had ever seen.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8**_

_A dog_! Thunder gaped up at the ferocious beast in horror; his limbs were frozen terror, preventing him from running away. _So those sounds from before must have been the dog barking at us._

But Thunder's attention was snapped from his thoughts back to the dog, which had let out another growl and taken a step forward with its massive paw. Thunder gulped as both he and River took a step back from the dog simultaneously. Both cats knew that they couldn't run away, for the dog would chase them wherever they went. Their only hope for survival would be to stay and fight.

Thunder let ever hair in his pelt stand straight up, trying to make himself look as big and intimidating as he possibly could. Thunder drew his lips back in a fierce snarl, revealing his own sharp white teeth to the dog, which let out another fearsome growl in response.

Arching his back and lashing his tail, Thunder let out a shrill warning hiss to the dog, "Leave us alone you fleabag!"

The dog barked and snarled some unintelligible nonsense in response and then took another step forward, causing River to take another step back.

Instead of stepping back, however, Thunder stepped forward towards the dog, challenging it. "If you come any closer, I'll attack!" He yowled at the dog ferociously.

"Thunder!" Thunder heard River's fear-filled mew come from behind him. "What are you _doing_!" She hissed, panic beginning to rise in her voice.

Thunder looked away from the dog and turned his head to look at her. "River, we both know we have to fight. If we try to run awa—"

Thunder's mew was cut off by more barking, snarling, and growling, and Thunder whipped his head towards the dog only to see it lunging at him with its claws outstretched. Thunder's head whipped back around to River, whose green eyes were wide with horror, and he yowled, "Run!" Not waiting for her to answer, Thunder squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and braced himself for impact, as he had no time to move out of the way of the dog's lunge.

The force of the dog's lunge knocked him to the ground and sucked the air right out of his lungs. His eyes shot open and he lay on the stone floor, coughing and gasping for air. He tried to get up so he could fight back, but the dog had pinned him to the ground with its massive paws pushing into his flank. Thunder thought he would be crushed from the mere weight of the dog on his flank, and as he looked up he saw that the dog's face was only a whisker-length away from his, close enough to where Thunder could feel its hot, stinking breath on his face. The dog's growling and snarling never ceased as its face inched closer, and Thunder looked into its eyes and saw nothing but bloodthirsty hatred. The dog's jaws parted and its teeth gleamed, ready to bite down on Thunder's head and crush his skull.

But just when the dog was about to give Thunder the fatal bite, there was a fierce caterwaul and suddenly the dog was knocked off of Thunder, its open jaws snapping shut on nothing but air a mere width of whisker from Thunder's head. With the weight of the dog no longer on Thunder, he scrambled to his paws and sprinted away from the dog as fast as he could. But when he realized that the dog wasn't chasing after him, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. The dog was craning its neck at its shoulders, snapping its jaws at something on its back, all the while barking ferociously. Puzzled, Thunder cautiously made his way closer to the dog, until he was close enough to see what was on the dog's back. He gaped up in awe and became amazed at what he saw.

A white cat with brown tabby patches was perched on the dog's back just behind its neck, raking its claws down the dog's shoulders and biting the back of the dog's neck. But the dog shook its whole body, spraying drops of blood everywhere and causing the cat to lose its grip on the dog's back. Thunder watched in horror as he saw the cat being flung into the air off the dog and landing on the ground a few tail-lengths away with a sickening thud. The dog, having successfully removed the cat, turned and stalked towards the lump of fur that lay unmoving on the ground. Its saliva dripped on the cat's pelt as it lowered its head and parted its jaws with a growl, preparing to bite down on its neck.

But the dog had forgotten all about Thunder, who was still standing and watching only a few tail-lengths away. With the dog's back now turned to Thunder, he saw this as the perfect opportunity. Unsheathing his claws, he sprinted forward towards the dog and leaped up at it with his forearms outstretched. He slammed into the dog's hindquarters and dug his claws into its flesh so that he could get a good grip. The dog yelped with pain and turned away from the still unmoving cat on the ground, once again snarling and barking. Thunder hauled himself up onto the dog's back and began raking his claws down its spine. The dog craned its neck over at him, trying to reach him with its snapping jaws, but its efforts were futile. Thunder continued to rake his claws down its spine, and he saw blood beginning to ooze out of the long scratch marks he had made. The dog tried shaking itself as it had done before, but upon his observation, Thunder was expecting this and therefore dug his claws deeper into the dog's flesh.

There was then another yelp of pain from the dog, and it was no longer trying to reach Thunder. Its head whipped around to its foreleg with a snarl, and as Thunder looked down he saw that the other cat had finally got up and was raking its claws along the dog's leg. Thunder whipped around and sunk his teeth into the dog's tail, biting down as hard as he could. The dog yelped in pain again, and the other cat sunk its teeth into the dog's foreleg and ran around to the other side of the dog and began raking its claws along its hind legs. With the dog distracted by the other cat at its legs, Thunder ran across the dog's back up to its neck and sunk his teeth in again. He then bit down on the dog's ear, where the flesh was thin enough to where Thunder could feel his teeth pierce straight through the skin, leaving holes in the dog's ear. The dog let out more yelps as the cats continued to inflict pain upon it, and Thunder raked his claws on the top of the dog's head before finally leaping back down to the ground.

The other cat raced to Thunder's side, and both cats arched their backs and hissed at the dog with their tails lashing. The dog shook its head, spraying blood on the cats before turning around and running back down the stone path that it had come from, whining and leaving bloody pawprints on the floor behind. Both cats flopped to the floor, panting and exhausted from the battle.

When Thunder finally caught his breath, he meowed, "Thank you."

The other cat looked over at him with puzzled amber eyes, "For what?" He panted.

"For saving my life." Thunder answered.

"Well, you saved mine too, so I guess we're even." The stranger pointed out.

"I'm Thunder by the way." Thunder changed the subject.

The stranger gave a curt nod and replied, "Shadow."

"Thunder, are you okay?" A frightened mew sounded from a nearby geranium bush a tail-length away. Thunder looked over at the bush and saw River squeeze out from under it into the open.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered her.

"I thought for sure you were going to die!" She wailed, fear still ringing in her mew.

"Who's that?" Shadow piped up, motioning with his head to River.

River's head whipped around to look at Shadow, as if she hadn't noticed him before. Her green eyes grew wide as she mewed, "Who are you?"

"I asked you first." Shadow answered.

River sat down and licked at an unruly tuft of ginger fur on her chest. "My name's River." She dipped her head in respect to Shadow, who nodded tersely and proceeded to tell her his name in return.

"Well, Shadow, it was nice meeting you, and thanks again for saving me." Thunder rose to his paws and motioned to River with his head to follow him.

"Wait, where are you going?" Shadow called after him, making him stop.

Thunder looked over his shoulder at him, "Why do you care where we go?"

Shadow looked down at his paws in sorrow, "Because I lost my home...and now I'm all alone."

Intrigued, Thunder turned around and sat down, "How did you lose your home?"

"It burned down from a fire." Shadow answered.

Thunder's blue eyes widened in surprise and cast a glance at River, who was looking at him with wide green eyes as well.

When neither cat said anything, Shadow mewed, "What? What is it?"

Thunder looked back at Shadow and answered, "River and I lost our homes in a fire too. We both ran away, following this stone path, and happened to find each other the next day."

"Oh, so you two don't know each other?" Shadow asked.

"No, not really, why?" Thunder replied, puzzled.

"No reason, I just thought that you two were mates with the way River was worrying about you and all earlier."

Thunder's pelt grew hot and prickled with embarrassment, and he fidgeted his paws uncomfortably. He glanced over at River shyly, but when they made eye contact he swiftly looked away at the ground. The air between them grew tense, and Thunder decided to change the subject.

"Do you know a cat named Rock?" He asked Shadow.

This time it was Shadow's turn to widen his eyes with shock. "Y—yeah," He stammered in surprise. "You know him?"

"Yes, he came to both River and I before we met and told us a prophecy, but we don't know what it means." Thunder's tone grew serious.

"He told me one too!" Shadow exclaimed. "But it couldn't possibly be the same one, could it?"

"Something about four elements?" Thunder prompted.

Shadow nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! And finding the other three…whatever that means."

"Hmm…"Thunder paused. "The sky, the air, the water, and the darkness..." He repeated the elements he had heard Rock speak of in the prophecy.

Shadow nodded, "Yep, that's definitely the same prophecy. But why would Rock tell all three of us about it? Why would he want all three of us to find the elements?" Shadow sounded genuinely confused.

"We don't know either." Thunder confessed. "All I can tell you is that we've decided to—"

"Wait!" River's exclamation cut him off.

Both Thunder and Shadow turned to look at her, bewildered, and simultaneously asked. "What?"

River's leafy green eyes were wider than Thunder had ever seen them, and they were filled with the light of some knowledge that Thunder didn't understand.

She exclaimed once more in response, "I know what it means! I know what the prophecy means!"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

Both Shadow and Thunder titled their head to the side, staring at River in bewilderment.

"What do you mean?" Shadow finally asked.

"Don't you get it?" River exclaimed. "Don't you get why Rock told all _three _of us to find the other elements?"

Shadow cast a glance at Thunder, who shook his head and replied, "Uh…no, not really."

River took a deep breath. "Okay, there are four elements total, right?"

Both Shadow and Thunder nodded in agreement.

River continued, "If there are only four elements total, and Rock told all three of us to find them, then that must mean that we _are _the elements!"

Shadow's amber eyes widened in shock, and he looked from Thunder back to River before asking, "Do you really think so?"

River nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! The prophecy says that four elements must come together to fulfill the prophecy. We all lost our homes in the same way—the fire."

A sudden realization hit Shadow. "Rock must have caused the fires that burned our homes!"

River nodded solemnly. "He forced us to leave our homes so that the four elements—us—would find each other."

"There's just one thing I don't understand," Shadow meowed, "Why did he mention sky, air, water, and darkness?"

River shook her head, "I don't understand that either." She looked over at Thunder, who had been silent the whole time, "What do you think, Thunder?"

Thunder looked up from staring at the ground and quietly mewed, "I don't know either."

River tilted her head to the side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Thunder's mew trailed off. "It's just that, I sort of knew all along that Rock had burned down my home on purpose."

River narrowed her leaf green eyes suspiciously at Thunder, "What do you mean?"

Thunder sighed. "Before the fire happened, Rock visited me and told me that if I didn't fulfill the prophecy on my own, then he would have to make me. I ignored him, so he caused the fire in order to make me leave."

"Why didn't you tell me that Rock caused the fire?" River's tone was incredulous. "It could have helped us figure out the prophecy earlier!"

"I—I didn't think it was important," Thunder confessed.

"Not important!" River exclaimed. "Don't you understand? The fire that burned down our homes connects us! It's how I figured out that we are the elements from the prophecy!"

"I'm sorry okay?" Thunder mewed. "I didn't know that we were supposed to be connected; that we were supposed to be the elements."

"Well, now that we have figured out the prophecy," Shadow piped up, trying to loosen some of the tension that had formed between Thunder and River, "what are we going to do about the fourth cat? Since there's only three of us…"

River looked away from Thunder and back to Shadow, "Right. We have to find the last element in order to fulfill the prophecy."

Shadow nodded. "How are we going to do that?"

River squinted her green eyes as though in deep thought. "Hmm…" Was all she murmured at first, but then she meowed, "Well, we all met each other following this stone path, so maybe if we keep following it we will find the fourth cat."

"We should follow the right path, since the one on the left is where the dog came from." Shadow pointed out.

Both River and Thunder nodded, agreeing. All three cats rose to their paws and began walking on the stone path. The sun gradually lowered in the sky as they traveled, causing the air around them to cool down from the warm green-leaf day. The shadows from the trees around them grew longer and longer, and the sunlight shining down on the cat's pelts as they walked became fragmented and dappled. When the sun was just above the horizon, a loud growl erupted from Shadow's belly, signaling his hunger.

"Maybe we should stop to hunt before the sun goes down." Shadow suggested.

Thunder nodded, "We should split up when we hunt, so that we don't get in each other's way. I'll go that way," Thunder suggested as he pointed with his tail to a clump of bushes close to a willow tree to the right of the stone path. "River, how about you hunt over there," He flicked his tail to the left of the path. "And Shadow, you can go on ahead a little farther along the path until you find something. We should all meet here to eat once we've caught something."

"Okay." Shadow and River simultaneously mewed, and all three cats then split up in the directions that Thunder had suggested.

Shadow continued to pad on the stone path, ears perked and jaws parted for any signs of prey. He stopped walking and inhaled deeply, letting the air wash over his scent glands. He smelled the sweet scent of gardenia flowers coming from a bush nearby, but no trace of prey. He resumed walking and letting the scents around him bathe his tongue, until he spotted a small furry animal shoot out of a blueberry bush a tail length in front of him. Shadow saw that it was a squirrel as it scurried across the stone path. He bunched his hindquarter muscles and leaped with his forearms outstretched and his claws unsheathed. The squirrel let out an alarmed squeak as he landed squarely on its back before it could reach the other side of the path, pinning it down to the ground with his paws and digging his claws into its flesh so that it could not escape from him. He gave it a swift and fatal bite to the neck, and picked up his kill in his jaws. Turning around, Shadow retraced his pawsteps back the way he had come down the stone path, using his own scent trail to guide him.

He spotted Thunder and River padding up to the meeting place, each with prey in their jaws. A fat rat dangled from Thunder's, and from River's, a plump dove. The three cats lied down to eat their fresh-kill in silence, each one of them ravenous from the long day of traveling. By the time all of them had eaten every scrap of meat, the sun was halfway below the horizon, turning the sky a blend of vibrant pinks and brilliant oranges.

With his belly full and his hunger gone, Shadow suddenly found himself absolutely exhausted, both from the battle with the dog and all the walking they had done. He saw Thunder part his jaws wide in a huge yawn, and he figured that the other cats must feel the same way too. Upon this realization, Shadow finally broke the silence between the cats, "We should find somewhere for all of us to sleep before it gets dark."

Thunder, whose icy blue eyes had begun to droop, shook his head to alert himself and then nodded at what Shadow had said. "Maybe in one of these bushes?" He suggested, motioning with his head to the clump where he had gone off to hunt.

"I do _not_ want to sleep in a bush another night." River grunted. "The ground is hard and uncomfortable."

Thunder purred in amusement. "Did you try making a nest?"

"Oh, no, I hadn't thought of that. A nest out of what though?"

"Well, I used the feathers from a pigeon I had caught. You could use the feathers from that dove for yours." Thunder nodded to the pile of feathers lying on the ground next to the dove carcass at River's paws.

"Oh, good idea, Thunder. But what about yours and Shadow's nests?"

"We could use moss" Shadow pitched in. "I saw some growing on the tree trunks around here."

"That'll work." Thunder concluded. "Let's go fetch some now, and River, how about you look for a bush big enough for all of us to fit in?"

"Okay," River nodded, rising to her paws, and padded over to the clump of bushes to the right of the stone path.

"Follow me," Shadow flicked his tail at Thunder, who nodded and rose to his paws as well.

The two cats padded on along the stone path until Shadow spotted a willow tree with its trunk covered in bright green moss. "Look over there," he pointed with his tail to the tree on the right of the path.

Thunder looked in the direction Shadow had pointed. "Looks like there's plenty for both of our nests."

Shadow nodded and padded over to the tree. Standing on his hind legs, he reached up with his forelegs outstretched and unsheathed his claws. He dug his claws into the bark of the tree trunk and began scratching them down the trunk in order to scrape off the moss. Thunder padded over and repeated what Shadow had done, and it wasn't long before the cats had worked together to scrape off enough moss for both of their nests. The cats picked up the piles of moss they had scraped off in their jaws and retraced their pawsteps back to the clump of bushes where they had decided to sleep.

Shadow dropped his bundle of moss onto the ground. "Where's River?" He wondered out loud.

"Over here!" A voice sounded from behind somewhere behind the wall of geranium bushes that stood before them, and soon after River jumped out of the leafy wall. "I found a huge lantana bush behind these geraniums." She explained, "It's big enough for all of us to fit. Follow me." Shadow watched as her ginger tail disappeared behind the leaves as she jumped through the wall once more.

After picking up his bundle of moss, Shadow and Thunder followed suit. Once they reached the other side, they saw a small clearing surrounded by various types of bushes and trees. In the middle of the clearing was a particularly large lantana. _That must be the bush River was talking about_, Shadow concluded to himself.

Shadow's thoughts were proven right as River padded over to the lantana and meowed, "Here it is. I just finished making my nest inside. There's plenty of room for yours." She then squeezed through a small gap in the intertwining branches of the bush, leaving orange tufts of fur from her pelt stuck on the twigs that surrounded the gap.

Shadow squeezed into the gap after her, and then Thunder followed. River had made her feather nest in the middle of the inside of the bush, so Shadow and Thunder placed their moss bundles on either side of River's nest. The cats proceeded to flatten out their piles of moss until it spread out to where it was wide enough for a cat to sleep on. River circled in place on her nest and then comfortably lied down with her tail curled over her nose. Both Shadow and Thunder sat down on their nests and began grooming themselves to rid their pelts of the dog's blood from the battle earlier that day. Shadow grimaced as he licked his fur; the tangy, sour taste of the dog's blood wasn't pleasant, but he knew if he didn't clean his pelt it would become matted. Once he could no longer taste the dog's blood, he knew his pelt was clean, so he became satisfied and finally lied down on his nest after circling on it like River had done. Not long after, Thunder lied down as well, his creamy brown fur sleek and shiny after his grooming.

"Goodnight," Shadow called over to Thunder, trying to be friendly.

Thunder dipped his head and responded. "Goodnight."

River, who was barely awake by now, let out a barely audible murmur, "Goodnight." A few heartbeats later her breathing deepened and her previously flicking tail grew still. Shadow closed his amber eyes and listened to River's rhythmic breathing as she slept, until it finally lulled him into the darkness of sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10**_

When Thunder opened his eyes he found himself standing on the stone path with thick fog swirling all around him. He squinted his icy blue eyes in an attempt to see through the fog, but it was so thick that it blocked out all of his surroundings. He parted his jaws and inhaled deeply, letting the air bathe his tongue to see if he could scent anything significant. But all he smelled was the cold, wet scent of the fog, and he let out a raspy cough as the humidity in the air tickled his throat.

Suddenly a dark, shadowy figure appeared in the distance in front of Thunder, but he couldn't identify what it was. Squinting his eyes once more, he saw that the figure was moving, that it was coming closer. Soon he made out the shape of a cat outlined against the thick fog, its head and tail held high with dignity.

As the cat padded closer, Thunder recognized its scent, and a heartbeat later he saw a familiar pair of bulging blind eyes glowing silver through the fog.

"Rock!" Thunder exclaimed as the grotesque cat came to a stop a tail-length in from of him.

Rock dipped his head in greeting, and Thunder was surprised that he was actually treating him with respect. "I see you and the others have figured out the meaning of the prophecy." The ancient cat rumbled.

Thunder felt his blue eyes widen in surprise, "How did you know?"

Rock twitched his whiskers, seeming to be half-amused. "I know everything, young one, much more than you will ever know."

_What could he possibly mean by that? _But Thunder ignored the question he was itching to ask and pushed it to the back of his mind. Focusing on the prophecy once more, he meowed, "So River was right, then? About us being the elements?"

Rock sat down with his bony, hairless tail curled around his scarred paws. "Yes," he rasped, "but don't think your task is done just because you have solved the riddle of the prophecy."

Thunder knew what he meant. "We still have to find the fourth cat."

"Good," Rock meowed, "you understand now." Then he rose to his paws, turned around, and began to pad into the fog, back the way he had come.

"Wait!" Thunder called after him. "Where do we find the fourth cat!"

Rock paused and looked over his shoulder at Thunder. "The path made of stone holds the answer that you seek." He then resumed walking, and only a few heartbeats later the ancient cat disappeared, swallowed by a swirl of fog.

"Wait!" Thunder began to run after him. "Come back! I still have questions!" He called to the spot where he had seen Rock disappear, but only an eerie silence answered him.

Thunder blinked and saw a wall of leaves and intertwining branches stretching up over him. Looking around, he saw River and Shadow to his left, still curled up in their nests. He realized that he was back in the lantana bush where the three cats had agreed to spend the night, and that his encounter with Rock had been just a dream. _But it _wasn't _just a dream_, Thunder told himself, _it was a clue. _

_The path made of stone holds the answer that you seek_, Rock's words echoed in his mind. _He must mean for us to follow the stone path, like River had suggested yesterday. _

Satisfied that he had solved Rock's riddle, he parted his jaws in a huge yawn, rose to his paws, and stretched. He found that his back and limbs weren't as stiff as the night before; the heat emanating from the other cats' bodies had kept the inside of the lantana comfortably warm throughout the night.

He decided to wake himself up a bit by grooming his pelt. He sat down in his nest, licked a brown paw, and drew it over his face. By the time he had finished grooming his face and moved on to lick his cream colored chest fur, he heard River stir in her nest. He paused his grooming to look over at her. She yawned, stood up, and stretched just as Thunder had done.

"Good morning." Thunder mewed as he returned to his grooming.

River, who was still blinking the sleep out of her leafy green eyes, mumbled, "Morning."

The sound of their voices must have awoken Shadow, for soon after he stirred and yawned. "It's morning already?" He grumbled as he too rose to his paws and stretched.

Thunder stifled a purr of amusement. "We have another long day of traveling ahead of us," He meowed. "We should hunt to keep our energy up." Before waiting for the others to answer, Thunder squeezed through the gap in the bush out into the clearing. He gave his pelt a good shake to rid his fur of the scrapes of moss from his nest. He gazed at the sky and saw that the sun had just come up above the horizon, the beginning of a new day.

Soon after River and Shadow followed him out of the lantana into the clearing. The three cats then split up to hunt, each cat heading to the edge of the clearing into clumps of undergrowth and bushes.

Thunder parted his jaws to scent the air, and it wasn't long before he smelled plenty of prey. He felt his mouth water at the smell of warm meat, and a pang of hunger shot through him. Then he spotted a small furry figure under the protective shadows of a honeysuckle bush just a tail-length away. Realizing that he was downwind of the creature, he inhaled deeply and was able to smell mouse. He crept forward on silent paws, keeping his belly fur just above the undergrowth, until he was able to see the mouse nibbling on a beetle. The bush was too low to the ground for Thunder to squeeze under and catch the mouse, so he deliberately stepped on a dried, dead leaf amidst the undergrowth. The crunching sound of the leaf alerted the mouse and it shot out of the bush in an attempt to flee. Thunder was ready, and so he pounced faster than lightning, landing on the mouse and killing it in a single bite to the neck.

_My hunting skills are improving! _Thunder praised himself, feeling his chest swell with pride as he picked up his kill in his jaws. _And to think I used to eat _Twoleg _food!_

Thunder retraced his pawsteps back through the undergrowth and made his way through the clump of bushes at the edge of the clearing. As he padded over to the lantana where the cats had slept, he saw River emerge from the edge of the clearing with a plump chipmunk in her jaws. She padded up to him and they both laid down to eat their fresh-kill. Shortly after they had just begun eating, Shadow emerged from the edge of the clearing with a feathery bundle dangling from his jaws.

As he padded over to meet the other two cats, River asked, "What is that?" She motioned with her head to Shadow's kill.

Shadow set his kill down on the ground and replied. "I'm not really sure. I think it is some kind of bird, hence the feathers. But when I first saw it, it was sitting on the lowest branch of a tree pecking the trunk with its beak. I've never heard of any bird that does that."

"A bird that hits its own beak against a tree?" River sniffed. "Sounds to me like it was just mad."

"Maybe." Shadow agreed, "I think I could have heard its pecking from a mile away. It led me right to it." With that, Shadow lied down and began to eat his fresh-kill.

By now Thunder had finished half of his meal, and it was then that he had decided to mention his dream. "I talked to Rock last night." He mewed.

Both River and Shadow stopped eating and looked up at him expectantly, but Thunder hesitated.

"Well," River finally spoke, "what did he say?"

"He told me that we were right about the meaning of the prophecy; about us being the elements."

River let out a purr. "I knew it!"

"Did he tell you where we're supposed to find the fourth cat?" Shadow piped up.

"He gave me a riddle: _The path made of stone holds the answer that you seek_," Thunder repeated Rock's words. "I thought about it for a little bit and I think he means for us to continue following the stone path like we have been. But I wasn't quite sure, so I wanted to discuss it with you two first."

"I think you're right, Thunder." Shadow replied. "That's the only solution that makes sense to me."

"So we've been going the right way all along then." River concluded.

Thunder nodded. "So as soon as we've all finished eating, we should get going. We don't know how long it's going to take to find the fourth cat, and we still don't know where _exactly _we will find them."

"Maybe Rock will send them a dream and lead them to us." River suggested.

"It's possible, but I don't think Rock would make it that easy on us. Throughout this whole journey, since the day of the fire, he's clearly been challenging us, both mentally and physically. I'm just not sure what for yet." Thunder meowed.

Shadow nodded, and River agreed. "You're probably right."

When all three cats had finished eating their fresh-kill, they rose to their paws and padded through the clearing back to the stone path. By now it was almost sun-high, and the heat of the green-leaf day soaked into the cats' pelts, making the journey uncomfortable and exhausting.

Thunder looked up at the sun as it beat down on him and was blinded by its bright light. _I don't know how much longer we can go on like this…_

It wasn't long before some cat spoke his mind. "I don't think I can go much farther," Shadow confessed, panting from the heat.

"I know, I'm hot and tired too," Thunder agreed, "but let's keep going until we find somewhere suitable to rest."

No cat replied to him as they continued to pad on the stone path. Soon Thunder saw several trees growing on either side of the stone path up ahead in the distance. He could see that the leafy branches of the trees stretched out above the stone path, creating a canopy of leaves and branches that blocked out the sun almost completely. All three cats picked up the pace until they were almost sprinting to the shade, eager for the cool relief.

Once they reached the shade, the cats all flopped down on their sides, panting. The stone of the path had absorbed the cool of the shade, and Thunder let out a relieved purr as he felt the coolness soak through his pelt.

"That feels much better." Shadow purred.

"Yes." River agreed, "But what I could _really _go for is some water."

The cats laid there in the shade in silence for a while as the sun rose higher in the sky. A slight breeze began to pick up, ruffling the cats' fur and cooling them off even more. Thunder felt his icy blue eyes drooping, and soon all three cats were comfortable enough to doze off to take a nap.

Thunder awoke to the sound of his belly letting out a growl. He was already hungry from the hot day of traveling. He stood up and stretched, his limbs and spine stiff this time from the hard stone underneath him. At the same instant River and Shadow stirred and awoke too, yawning and stretching.

"Is it just me or am I starving?" Shadow meowed.

Thunder stifled a purr of amusement. "I suppose we should hunt."

The cats split up to hunt once more. It wasn't long before they returned to the stone path where they had slept, all three cats with prey dangling from their jaws. They ate quickly in huge, gulping bites. Soon they were well-rested and full-fed, ready to resume their journey.

Thunder looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to go down. "It should be a little cooler now," he pointed out.

River and Shadow nodded, agreeing, and all three cats began to pad along the stone path once more. The air around them gradually cooled as the sun continued to lower in the sky. When the sun was just above the horizon, Thunder spotted a huge figure to the left of the stone path looming in the distance.

"What is that?" River wondered out loud.

Shadow shrugged. "Dunno."

"Let's get a closer look." Thunder suggested.

The cats picked up the pace, trotting towards the figure. By the time they were close enough to identify the figure, the sun had begun to go below the horizon, turning the sky pink and orange.

"It looks like a Twoleg nest." River pointed out.

"Indeed," Thunder agreed, "but there's something different about it. Let's check it out."

"What?" River's green eyes widened in surprise. "You want to go _inside _it?"

"Well let's just check out the outside first." Thunder suggested.

As the cats continued to pad closer, Thunder saw that the Twoleg nest was surrounded by a wall-like structure made of a series of hard, shiny spokes connected to each other by what looked like stone. Thunder approached the wall and sniffed at the spokes, but he couldn't identify the scent. He saw that the spokes were far enough apart so that a cat could fit between them. Thunder looked over his shoulder at River and Shadow, who were still standing a couple tail-lengths away from the wall. He flicked his tail at them, beckoning them to come closer.

"A cat can fit through here." Thunder explained as the other two cats approached him.

"Why would we want to go through there though?" River questioned.

Thunder glanced at the sky once more. The sun was about halfway below the horizon by now. "We could investigate the nest and see if there are any Twolegs around." He suggested.

"Why would we want to do that?" This time it was Shadow who asked.

"Well, we need a place to spend the night." Thunder meowed, "This is the safest place for us to sleep through the night."

With River and Shadow finally understanding, Thunder poked his head between two spokes before squeezing the rest of his body through. He felt that the material of the spokes was stiff and smooth as his pelt brushed against them, not giving way to his body as he passed through.

_It's a good thing I'm not fat! _Thunder remarked to himself as he reached the other side. He looked around, observing his surroundings. He was in what used to be a rosebush garden, but now all the plants had died. _It's as if the Twolegs stopped looking after them_, Thunder concluded. He parted his jaws and smelled only the scents of the dead plants around him, no Twolegs.

He waved his tail to River and Shadow, signaling to them that it was safe to pass through the wall. Soon they were by his side, their jaws parted as well to take in the scents around them. Thunder spotted a small path to the right of the garden and padded over it. As he approached it he saw that it was once made of tiny pebbles and rocks leading up to the Twoleg nest, but now the gravel was scattered, revealing patches of dirt underneath. Thunder followed the path to the nest, and by now the sun was almost completely gone below the horizon. Despite the dim light, he could still make out that the nest was made of wood instead of stone. _Strange_, Thunder thought, _all the Twolegs nests I lived by were made of stone. I've never seen one made of wood._

River spoke his mind as she padded up behind him. "This nest must be very old," She pointed out, "Twolegs don't make their nests out of wood anymore."

"How will we get inside?" Shadow asked from behind River.

Thunder studied the walls of the nest closely. Suddenly he spotted a small hole in the wood of the nest towards the bottom of the wall. He padded up to the hole and measured it with his whiskers. "It's big enough." He meowed and beckoned to River and Shadow with a motion of his head.

As they followed him to the hole, Thunder crouched and squeezed through, the sharp edges of the wood tugging at his pelt and leaving tufts of creamy brown fur stuff to the edges of the hole. When he was finally inside, he gave his pelt a shake and looked around, but he couldn't see anything, for it was too dark inside the nest and his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the dim light.

Suddenly an angry, menacing growl sounded from somewhere in the darkness. "What are you doing here!" Thunder froze in shock at the sound of the voice, unable to move as it let out a vicious snarl. "Get out or I'll attack!"


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter 11**_

River pricked her ears as she heard the sound of cat's screeching coming from inside the Twoleg den. She ran the rest of the way to the hole in the wall and shoved herself through, ignoring the pain from the sharp wooden edges of the hole scraping against her shoulders and back.

At first she wasn't able to see anything, for it was too dark inside the den. But then her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and as she looked around her she spotted two cats wrestling on the ground a few tail-lengths in front of her. She watched with a mixture of confusion and excitement as the cats fought, until they rolled over into a shaft of moonlight that was coming through a hole in the roof of the den.

The moonlight illuminated the cats, and River's confusion and excitement turned to horror as she recognized the creamy brown pelt of Thunder as he fought with the stranger.

She bounded towards the two cats and let out a yowl. "Stop!"

But when the cats continued to wrestle, River decided that she would break the fight up herself. She reached forward with her neck and gripped Thunder's scruff in her teeth. She yanked him off of the strange cat and heaved him onto the ground, where he lay panting.

"What is going on here?" River demanded.

Both cats lay on their flanks, panting with exhaustion from the fight. They glared in silence at one another in silence for several heartbeats, but then Thunder managed to catch his breath and reply.

"This flea-pelt attacked me!" Thunder hissed, not taking his eyes of the stranger.

"You were trespassing on my territory!" The other cat shot back at him, his fur bristling and his claws unsheathing once more, as if he was ready for yet another battle.

"Who says this is _your _territory!" Thunder snarled, also preparing for another fight.

"I do, of course!" The cat retorted. "I've lived here my whole life!"

River stepped between the two cats, blocking them from glaring at each other and interrupting their argument. "Okay, Thunder trespassed on your territory, and he's very sorry for doing so, isn't he?" She swung her head to where Thunder lay on the floor and narrowed her eyes at him.

Thunder hung his head and stared at his paws before growling. "Yeah, whatever. Sorry."

River saw the strange cat wearing a smug expression on his face as Thunder apologized. She whipped her head around to face him. "Don't look so smug. You deserve as much blame as Thunder does."

The cat's grey eyes widened in surprise slightly. "What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that you shouldn't go attacking a cat as soon as they set paw in your territory!" River exclaimed, "You could have at least given Thunder a chance to explain himself."

Now it was Thunder who wore the smug expression. "And you!" River whipped her head around once more. "Didn't you check the hole for scent marks before you entered the den?"

Thunder let out an annoyed hiss. "No," he grumbled, "I must have forgot."

"Right, then. Don't ever forget again, mouse-brain." River mewed brusquely before turning to face the strange cat once more. "What is your name?"

"Breeze," the cat replied.

A thought suddenly popped into River's mind. _I wonder if he could be the fourth cat? _She considered this for a moment. _But his home didn't burn down, like the rest of ours. His is still here, so he isn't connected…Unless, maybe there is some other sort of connection between us._

Troubled by her confusing thoughts, River shook her head to clear it, and proceeded to introduce herself and Thunder to Breeze. By now, Shadow had entered the hole to the den and cautiously padded over to them, and so River introduced the cats to each other.

After introductions, River explained to Breeze how they had lost their homes, and had been traveling for days in search of a new home.

"If we could just sleep here for one night, we promise we will leave at the first sight of dawn," River meowed as she finished explaining her story.

Breeze had had his grey eyes narrowed in suspicion throughout the whole explanation, as if he didn't believe them. "And why should I trust you three to not kill me in my sleep?" His tone was accusing, as if they had already tried.

River let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, if we wanted to kill you, we would have a long time ago. What good would it do to us to kill you, anyway?"

Breeze searched the three cats' faces for several heartbeats before replying, "All right. You can spend the night here." He paused, and then added, "But I don't like it. You try anything, and I'll claw all your ears off."

River dipped her head to Breeze in respect. She exchanged a glance with both Thunder and Shadow, and the looks they gave her confirmed that they were thinking the same as her. _This has got to be the most hostile cat I've ever met!_

But River's attention was brought back to the situation when Breeze gave a flick of his tail and announced, "Follow me, I'll show you where you can sleep."

The three cats followed Breeze as he turned around and led them to a group of large, Twoleg objects that River hadn't noticed before. They seemed to be covered in some kind of white sheet, and they were placed so that they surrounded some kind of long, colorful pelt that lay flat on the wooden floor. There was one big object on one side of the pelt, and two smaller objects on the other two sides.

Breeze led them across the pelt to the biggest object. River noticed that the texture of the colorful pelt felt a bit like fur underpaw, only it was tightly woven and rougher. As they crossed the pelt, River looked up at the big object and noticed that the shape of it seemed a bit familiar, although she couldn't place why.

When the cats reached their destination, Breeze stopped and explained, "This should be big enough for all three of you to sleep on." He waved his tail towards the object, and as River examined its size she realized he was right.

"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked, hoping that Breeze wouldn't interpret it as her planning to attack him in his sleep.

Breeze narrowed his eyes, but didn't say whether or not he was suspicious. He hesitated for a moment, and then answered with a flick of his tail to the other side of the colorful pelt, "I'll sleep on one of the smaller ones."

River replied with a simple nod, and hopped onto the large object. As she set paw on its surface, she realized that it reminded her of the soft, boulder-like structure that she used to sleep on in her old Twoleg den. Thunder and Shadow followed suit and leapt onto the soft, comfy boulder as well. The three cats circled a few times, and then finally lied down with tails curled over paws and noses to sleep.

River listened to Thunder's and Shadow's rhythmic breathing as they drifted off. But no matter how hard she tried to quiet her mind, troublesome and confusing thoughts kept nagging at her.

_Could Breeze be the fourth cat? Could there be some other indication that Thunder, Shadow, and I are connected, besides our homes burning down? But if so…then what?_

River let the words of the prophecy replay in her mind, as if Rock was next to her, whispering in her ear.

_There are four elements that must come together: the sky, the air, the water, and the darkness._

She decided to break down the elements in the prophecy, one by one. _Sky, air, water and darkness, can't literally come together, can they? That makes no sense. Those elements must be a metaphor for something else. And I already know that Thunder, Shadow, and I are the elements…but which one of us is the sky? The air? The water and darkness?_

Suddenly, a stream of thoughts poured into her mind. _Water. Like rain, or maybe a lake, or…a river. River. That's my name._ Her eyes flew open at a sudden realization. _I _am _the water._

River's green eyes were wide in amazement. She had finally unraveled all meanings of the prophecy. Or had she? She couldn't be exactly sure that she was right, but she knew she was close. She felt lightheaded from the effort, and she looked around her, dazed. Suddenly she spotted a familiar grotesque figure sitting on the ground a few tail-lengths from her.

She stared at the hairless cat as he ever so slightly nodded, to confirm that she had indeed, solved the mystery of the prophecy. A heartbeat later, River blinked and Rock vanished into thin air.


End file.
